U.S. SEC Drops Lawsuit Against BitClout Founder Nader Al-Naji, Concluding $257 Million Funding Case

Odaily News: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed its civil enforcement lawsuit against BitClout founder Nader Al‑Naji. According to a joint document filed with the court on March 12, the SEC and Al-Naji have agreed to terminate the case proceedings. The case will be permanently closed, and the regulatory agency is barred from filing another lawsuit based on the same allegations. The SEC stated that this decision was made "based on the specific facts and circumstances of this case." It is reported that the SEC had sued Al-Naji in July 2024, accusing him of wire fraud and the sale of unregistered securities through the crypto social networking project BitClout (later associated with the decentralized social blockchain DeSo). Allegedly, he raised approximately $257 million by selling BitClout's native token BTCLT and was suspected of using over $7 million of investor funds for personal expenses, including leasing a mansion in Beverly Hills. (CoinDesk)